Letter 18. To a Lady
He shows how troub●es are the proof of Faith, and Love, in the servants of God, and how confident they ought to be of his divine Majesty, in the midst of their troubles.
AS soon as I received your letter, I offered thankes to our Lord, for having given you a sign, that your vocation came from his hand, and this sign is, that you have suffered tribulation. You must not be a little glad of this, since our Lord love's you. Nor yet must you be slack, since you are in the midst of many dangers; but carry your eye towards him, who hath called you with so great love. You must also have a strong heart, For he called you not with intention to give you over in the midst of your journey; but to guide you under the protection of his own wings, till he may have conducted you to heaven, where you shall see his face. Let not the faith of Christ our Lord, nor the love you own him sleep in you; for he never sleeps when there is question of doing you any good.
These are tokens which he uses to send, to whom he love's, to try if they also love him, in their afflictions, and if they confide in him in their dangers: That Spouse is not worthy of thankes, who love's her fellow spouse, but only when he is present with her; not doth it cost him much to confide in him when she finds herself regaled by him. But the matter is, that when he absents himself from her, yea and when he seems to have forgotten her, she must love him so much the better, as he is further absent from her, and confide in him so much the more; as she hath fewer exterior signs of his favour.
It is enough for you, my good sister, to have known already by experience, how loving our Lord hath been to you; by his having drawn you to the knowledge of himself. And be you, not craving new testimonies of his Love, but making yourself sure enough thereof, and be not troubled though he correct you; and though it seem, as if he estranged himself from you and forgot you; but rather say thus; He hath a mind to try me, and not to oppress me. You must love our Lord, though he correct you, you must confided in him, though you feel no comfort from him. Seek him, though he hide himself; suffer him not to rest, till you have waked him, and till he confess that you are faithful in his absence. And thus you shall find him return to you, with so much advantage, as that when you enjoy his presence again, you will esteem your former afflictions well employed.
Procure great courage, wherewith to suffer; for after the rate of your sorrows, shall your comforts be. Be not a lover of your self, but be a lover of God; lose yourself, and so you shall be sure to find yourself. And if once you would but trust God home; and if once you would offer yourself to him, with true love there could nothing happen which would fright you. All bitter frozen afflictions proceed but from distrust in God. And for this our Lord said, Let not your hearts be troubled, and do not fear. You believe in God, believe also in me. So that faith and love is the cause of peace, John. 14 and quietness to the hart.
There is no one thing, which is so necessary for you, towards the making you able to arrive at the end of that day's work, wherein God hath placed you, as to confide in him with love. Our lord hath many proofs to make of you, and many tribulations shall grow where you look least for them; but if you stand armed with faith and love, you shall overcome them all. Do but remember how the children of Israel, when they were issued out of the land of Egypt, by the means of so many miracles, and were passing through so many afflictions, before they arrived at that land, which our lord had promised them, said thus, The people which possess this land, is greater and stronger than we; they have mighty Cities whose walis do even threaten the sky we cannot overcome such a stout nation as this: to what end do we put ourselves upon this journey? And though some amongst them, who had faith, did encourage the rest, by saying that since God was of their side, they should easily be able to overcome, as they had done till then; yet fear prevailed so fare, as that they offended our lord thereby, and through their little confidence, they lost the land, and God destroyed them in the desert, without suffering them to enjoy that, for which they had laboured, and which himself had promised. Let us take warning, my good sister, by the danger of others: and let us know, that our lord hath gust, in such as fear him, and hope in his mercy; and is offended with such, as do not so. It is he who drew you out of the captivity of Egypt, when he inspired your hart with a desire of being his: and he leads you still, through this desert, which is so impleasant: where sometimes you want the bread of doctrine, for lack of such, as might break it to you: other times you want company which may speak of spiritual things, that so your way might be made to seem the shorter; At other times you want the trees of other recreation, which might give you shade: and in steed of these commodities, you have a thousand discomforts. Now temptations rise, against you from within: and then from without; now from strangers, and then from domestics. But yet attend you only to your business, for he who did that for you, which was more, can never fail to do that for you, which is less. He who made you a friend, of an enemy, will better keep you now, when you are his friend. He who did not abandon you, when you fled from him, will much less fly now from you, when you follow him.12
Who is he that can say, with any truth, that God did not help him if he were desired? See you have no fear o you servant of Christ, in any thing which may happen to you; but confide in him, who Loved you so well, as to dye for you. It is true that you have but one, who protects you, but that one, is of much more power, than all they who contradict you. Do not think, of how great the giants, and how strong the Cities are, which you must encounter, for it is not you, who must fight.
But hold you your peace, and our lord will fight for you. Do not fly from the war, nor abandon yourself, as one who were overcome: and so you shall see the favour of our Lord ●●wards you. For in this war, he only loses the battle, who quits the field. It is true that you are weak; but in that weakness of yours, God will show his strength. It is true that you know not much, but God himself will be your guide. By your miseries, God will make his mercies appear. Who are you, that you should be able to pass through such difficulties? but yet say with Da●id, In the strength of my God. I will leap over a wall. Who are you that you should be able to fight? but yet say with him again. Though thousands should rise against me, y●t my hart shall not fear. Believe, my good sister, that how much the harder this business is for you, so much the easier is it for Almighty God. And therefore you must have great distrust in respect of your own weakness; but great confidence withal, in God's strength. Infallibly he will crown you, if you continue in his love, and if you confide, that by his grace you shall obtain that Crown.3456
Forget not this promise of Christ our lord, him whoe confesses me before men, that man will I confess before my father who is in heaven; but him who denies me before men, that man will I also deny before my father who is in heaven. Can you think, that one is to esteem that for affliction, which he endures for the confession of Christ our lord; since it is to have so high a reward, as that, with so much honour, he shall be avowed by him at the day of judgement, before his father? Happy is that sufferance, happy that dishonour, and poverty, to which so high an honour doth succeed. What kind of joy will it be for you, O my ghost sister, to hear these words from the mouth of Christ our lord himself, and that in presence of the whole world.7
Come you blessed of my father and possess the kingdom which is prepared for you. What will it be, when the angels shall thus sing, to her, who hath been a faithful servant, of that celestial king, Come O spouse of Christ, receive th● crown which our Lord hath prepared for thee; and that not for one day but for all eternity. What will the spouses of Christ our Lord conceive, when having passed through the sea of this life, and their enemies who disturbed us, remaining drowned therein, they shall sing thus with great joy, for having run through this dangerous world, without being overwhelmed by the vices thereof, The suare is broken, and we are delivered, our help is in the name of our lord. What a day will that be, when that true Mary, the virgin of virgins, shall go before with her Timbrel, which is her sacred body, praising God both in body and soul; and singing thus.89
Come magnisye our Lord wish me, and let us exalt his name in mutual satiety with one another.10
Happy are you, if you be found faithful to the Spouse who chose you. Happy are you, if you have the courage to cast away that which is present, under the most certain promise of Christ our Lord, for that which is future. Be confident, my good sister, in taking his word; for you are not the first to whom he hath passed it, and fulfilled it; neither shall you be she with whom that word shall want effect. He gave his word to S. Katherine, S. Agnes, S. Barbara, and S. Lucy, and to innumerable other Lady virgins; and tell me now, how completely he hath performed it. They had the courage to despise, the poor present world: and you see that now, they reign with God. They lived here in trouble; and they are now in the eternity of repose. Through how many combatts did they pass, and they now enjoy the everlasting crowns of their conquests. They fled from spouses of the earth, and they brought the king of heaven, to be in love with them.
If they had followed the trace, of this world, their delight had been already passed: and their memories would have been forgotten. But they loved that, which was eternal, and therefore their felicity shall not dye: and their memory shall not decay. They were written in the book of God; and therefore neither water nor wind, nor fire nor time, can make them waste; For that book is incorruptible and so in the name which is written in it.
You must therefore procure to have a strong heart towards God, who is your salvation, and do not think that he sells heaven dear to you, for you have not yet shed your blood for him, as those others shed theirs. Our lord treats you, like a weak creature; and you should be ashamed to have given him such cause. If you had had more faith, and confidence in him, and more love to suffer for him, he would have procured you more afflictions; to the end that you might have purchased richer Crowns. Do not content yourself with suffering little, considering how great your rewards all be: and how much Christ our Lord suffered for you. He gave his life for you, and he was deeply tormented and despised. How then come you thus to complain of the touch of a fly? do but love, and you will desire to suffer. Let your love be doubled, and you will suffer sorrows which are doubled. The love of our lord, makes such as possess it, more greedy of suffering, than the love of ones self, of reposing. It makes that any burden weighs light, for love is stronger than death. He who love's not, groans under the burden, like some lazy beast; but he who loves runs, and flies; and it suffers him not to feel the weight even of his own body, nor of whatsoever else they can lay upon it.
It is not my good sister, that the afflictions which we suffer are greater; but that our love is little. The weight of a pound is no great weight; but yet lay it upon some little child, and he will say, O how heavy it weighs? Whereas if a man took it up, he would scarce feel it. And so take you it, for a sign, that if you love little your afflictions will weigh heavy upon you; but if you love much you will scarce allow them to be afflictions. For you will be so inebriated with love, that nothing can be able to distract you, from the taste thereof. You will find a good savour in the very suffering, itself; and you will draw water, out of the rock, and honey out of the stony hills.11
Do but love, and you shall not be subject to afflictions, but you shall be Superior to them, as their Lady, and you shall praise him who delivers you from them. If they threaten you with death, you will bid it welcome; that so you may enjoy true life. If with banishment, you will say, That you esteem yourself banished wheresoever you are, till you may arrive to see the face of God: And that it imports you little, whether you go to heaven, from this, or that part of the earth; And that, if you have God in your company, wheresoever you are, you shall be happy; and if not, your own country will give you misery enough. If you see yourself contemned, say, Christ our Lord is my honour and he honours me: let the world despise me, so he value me.
Do not afflict yourself, about the necessity which you may sustain of present things: for of your self you must despise them, through the desire which you have to ●liue in conformity with Christ our Lord, who made himself a poor man for you.
What is there in the world, which ought to fright you? If the love of Christ our Lord have wounded you, you will tread the devil under foot; you will despise his threats; and you will pass with courage, through all your enemies. Put your trust in him, who love's his lovers. There is nothing which you will not be able to do, in him. Go and buy whatsoever you want, of him, though he ask you all this world for it; and see that you be not found without the love of him, though it should cost you your life. He is a hidden treasure, but he who finds him, sells all to buy him. For in him alone, he finds himself more rich, then with the multitude of all other things.
And now if it concern every one of us to love him, how much more doth it import that she do it, whom he hath chosen for his spouse. It becomes the servant to fear his Master; and the son to honour his father, but the spouse, to love her fellow spouse. See you love our lord, and take no rest till he have granted you this gift. Love him with reverence, for that is the kind of love, which he likes. Esteem not him the less, because he communicates himself to you; but wonder, how so great an altitude as his, can stoop to such a profound business as yours. It is the property of ill natured and ill mannered servants to value their Masters at a less rate for vouchsafeing to descend and become familiar with them, then if they had lived which them like lords. But they who live in true light esteem that lord so much the more, as he doth more vouchsafe to diminish himself.
The true love of Christ our lord carries this badge with it, in token that it is indeed of him; That as it apprehends, and highly esteems the goodness of God, so it also apprehends, and profoundly disesteemes, the wickedness of man. Therefore love, adore and serve our lord, with joy: but yet rejoice with trembling. Not a trembling as of a slave, in the midst of torments, but as of a true, & tender hearted child, who highly fears to give any disgust to her father, how little it soever may be.
Of yourself you can do none of these things; but if you humble your hart in the acknowledgement of your own miseries, if you present yourself often in prayer, before Christ our lord, if you lodge him in your breast by the Communion; if you hear him speak to you in your spiritual reading, and in fine if you will but give him leave to help you, you are to have confidence, that by little & little he will be healing your soul, notwithstanding all the harsh encounters which may occur.
Do not start out of his hands, though the cure put you to pain; for, in fine, he will work the cure at the fittest tyme. And for the afflictions which he sends you, & the delights whereof he deprives you, he will give you his own most plentiful delight; which shall inebriate you, as if it were with some swelling river; and you shall be in full joy, for all eternity, without the want of any good, and without the fear of losing what you have. You shall there find yourself to be highly well content, & paid; and more felicity shall be imparted to you, than yourself could tell how to desire. Which felicity is not a creature but a Creator himself of all things; that true God who live & reigns for the eternity of all eternities. Amen.
Footnotes
Chapter 7 of 57